Pakistan has banned popular battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds(PUBG). According to a notification by PTA, the country has temporarily banned the game after raised complaints against it being addictive and detrimental to players’ health.
Pakistan Telecommunication Authority stated in a Tweet, “PTA has received numerous complaints against PUBG wherein it is stated that the game is addictive, wastage of time and poses a serious negative impact on the physical and psychological health of the children.”
The authority claimed that this new step was taken after they received numerous complaints from concerned people. This was also pushed by PTA due to certain media reports which attributed cases of suicide to PUBG. PTA said in a statement, “Honorable Lahore High court has also directed PTA to look into the issue and decide the matter after hearing the complainants. In this regard, a hearing is being conducted on 9th of July 2020.”
Dawn.com reported that on June 24, a 16-year-old boy had committed suicide in Hanjarwal area by hanging himself from a ceiling fan of his house when he “missed his mission” in PUBG, dawn.com had reported. The police also confirmed that the boy named Mohammad Zakarya took the extreme step for not completing his task while playing the battle royale game.
Dawn.com quoted Saddar Division SP Operations Ghazanfar Syed as he said, “We found his mobile phone on the bed with the PUBG game on at that time near his body. We immediately called the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for further investigation into the incident.”
PUBG has been a concern in India as well with a few reports that have linked the online game with serious addiction and in some cases, suicide.
